How to file a mechanics lien in Colorado

Step by step

10 steps for a subcontractor in Colorado.

1. 1

   Step 1: Search the county records for a bond notice before you mobilize

   Optional

   Before you start work on the project.

   If the prime contractor executed both a performance bond and a labor-and-materials payment bond, each equal to 150% of the contract price, and recorded a notice of that bond before any work started, there are NO mechanics lien rights on that project for anyone. Your remedy is a direct claim against the prime contractor and its surety instead.

   Where it goes

   County clerk and recorder for the county where the project sits, plus the notice posted on the job site.

   How

   Search the county clerk and recorder's records. The bond notice has to be indexed under both the street address and the legal description of the property. The prime contractor also has to post a notice on the property saying a bond notice was recorded, and has to give you a copy of the bond if you ask for it.

   Proof to keep

   A copy of the recorded bond notice and of the bond itself. If there is no bond notice, keep your dated search result.

   If you miss it: You can still get paid, but not with a lien. The direct action against the principal contractor and its surety must be brought within six months after completion of the last work on the project. If you spend those six months perfecting a lien that legally cannot exist, you lose the bond claim as well. Separately: if you record a lien anyway, it is deemed released once the principal and all sureties record an acknowledgment that the bond exists and that you may claim its benefits — and if they refuse to do that within thirty days after your written demand, all lien claimants can enforce their liens as if no bond had been filed.

   Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-22-129(1)-(5)(opens the statute in a new tab)
2. 2

   Step 2: Send a notice to the owner or fund-disburser to force money to be held back

   Optional

   Any time. There is no deadline on this notice. It only helps while there is still money left to hold.

   A written notice telling the owner — or the architect, superintendent, agent, or whoever is disbursing construction funds — that you have furnished or will furnish labor, laborers or materials. Once they have it, the person who contracted with the principal contractor has a legal duty to hold back enough money to cover your claim and any lien you might record. Colorado has no instrument called a stop notice; this is the closest thing it has. A principal contractor cannot use it. Note that a materialman who furnishes materials directly to the owner is treated as a principal contractor under Colorado case law, so direct-to-owner suppliers should not assume this is open to them.

   Where it goes

   The owner or reputed owner, the superintendent of construction, the agent, the architect, or the financing institution or other person disbursing construction funds.

   How

   Deliver it to the owner or reputed owner personally, or leave it at their residence or place of business with some person in charge. You may instead deliver it to the superintendent of construction, the agent, the architect, or the financing institution or other person disbursing construction funds, or leave it at their residence or place of business with someone in charge. The statute says the notice is not invalid for any defect of form as long as it informs the owner of the substantial matters or puts them on inquiry.

   Proof to keep

   A copy of the notice, and a dated record of exactly how, when, and to whom you delivered it.

   What the document must contain

   • In general terms, the kind of labor, laborers or materials
   • The name of the person to or for whom it was done or furnished, or is to be done or furnished
   • The estimated or agreed value, as near as may be, of what you have already done or furnished
   • The estimated or agreed value of the whole amount you agreed to do or furnish

   If you miss it: Nothing is forfeited — this notice is optional and carries no deadline. But without it nobody has a duty to hold anything back, and money keeps flowing down to the contractor who is not paying you.

   Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-22-102(4)-(6); principal-contractor status, § 38-22-108(1)(opens the statute in a new tab)
3. 3

   Step 3: Send a notice to the construction lender's disburser to get paid directly

   Optional

   Any time. There is no deadline.

   Once the disburser has your notice, it must work out what you are owed on each disbursement date and pay you DIRECTLY out of undisbursed funds, before paying the party above you. A "disburser" is the lender paying out a construction loan as work progresses, or anyone receiving those funds to pay out, or an owner who agreed to pay a contractor in stages. If the disburser ignores the notice and you lose money because of it, the disburser is liable to you for what it should have paid you.

   Where it goes

   The disburser. If you do not know who that is, the person you contracted with has a legal duty, on your demand, to give you the names, addresses and phone numbers of the owner or reputed owner, the principal contractor and the disburser, plus a legal description or address of the land. The disburser also has to record a notice naming itself and the owner before the first disbursement, so check the county records too.

   How

   In writing, served on the disburser by certified mail, by personal delivery to the disburser, or by leaving a copy at the disburser's residence or place of business with some person in charge.

   Proof to keep

   The certified mail receipt or a signed delivery record, plus a dated copy of the notice.

   What the document must contain

   • The property, by address, legal description, or other description that will identify it
   • Your name, address and telephone number
   • The name of the person you contracted with
   • A general statement of your contract

   If you miss it: Nothing is forfeited. But the disburser keeps paying the contractor above you and that money is gone.

   Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-22-126(1)-(7)(opens the statute in a new tab)
4. 4

   Step 4: If your recording window is running out, record an extension notice

   Optional

   Only inside your normal recording window — four months from your last day, or two months from completion if you are a day-or-piece laborer. It does nothing once that window has closed.

   A short recorded notice saying you may later record a lien statement. It pushes your recording deadline out to four months after completion of the structure or improvement OR six months after you record the notice — whichever comes FIRST. It is not a lien, and it is not open-ended time: it terminates automatically six months after you record it.

   Where it goes

   County clerk and recorder for the county where the real property is located.

   How

   Record it with the county clerk and recorder. One notice can cover more than one property; in a subdivision, one notice can describe only the part you have or will have a lien on. If the improvement still is not finished as your notice nears its termination date, you can record a new or amended notice before that date, good for another six months from recording or four months after completion, whichever comes first.

   Proof to keep

   The recorded copy showing the reception number and recording date, and a calendar entry for the six-month auto-termination date.

   What the document must contain

   • The legal description, address, or other description that will identify the real property
   • The name of the person you contracted with
   • Your name, address and telephone number

   If you miss it: You simply keep your original deadline. But if you record one and then let it terminate without recording a new or amended notice first, the extension is gone. The owner can also force it off: once your agreement to provide labor, laborers or materials ends, the owner may demand that you record a termination of the notice.

   Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-22-109(10), (11), (12); on 1- or 2-family dwellings this notice only beats a bona fide purchaser if recorded within one month after completion or before conveyance, whichever is later — § 38-22-125(opens the statute in a new tab)
5. 5

   Step 5: Serve the Notice of Intent to File a Lien Statement on the owner AND the prime contractor

   At least ten days before the day you record your lien statement. Count from the day you put it in the mail, not the day it arrives — Colorado courts have held the date of mailing starts the ten-day waiting period.

   This is Colorado's one mandatory notice, and it comes at the end of the job, not the start. The statute says it flatly: to preserve any lien, this notice must be served. It binds every claimant. The statute prescribes no form and no required contents — what it prescribes is who gets it, how it is served, and how far ahead of recording.

   Where it goes

   Two recipients, both required: (1) the owner or reputed owner of the property, or the owner's agent; AND (2) the principal or prime contractor, or his or her agent. Note that under § 38-22-101(1) every contractor, architect, engineer, subcontractor, builder or other person having charge of the construction counts as the owner's agent for lien purposes.

   How

   Personal service, OR registered or certified mail with return receipt requested, addressed to the last known address of each person. Then prepare an affidavit of that service or mailing — you must record that affidavit together with the lien statement, and the statute says it is what constitutes proof of service. You may send a copy of the lien statement itself at the same time as the notice without affecting perfection.

   Proof to keep

   The certified mail receipts and return receipts (or personal-service proof) for BOTH recipients, the postmarked date, and the signed affidavit of service or mailing. The affidavit is not optional paperwork — it gets recorded with the lien.

   What the document must contain

   • The statute prescribes no form and no required contents — only that it be a notice of intent to file a lien statement, served on both required recipients, at least ten days before recording

   If you miss it: No lien. Colorado courts have held that failure to record an affidavit of service of the notice of intent upon the principal contractor invalidates the lien; that the lien claimant carries the burden of proving statutory notice was given; and that the owner does not have to plead or prove any prejudice from a lack of notice. Recording fewer than ten days after service fails for the same reason — a lien statement with its affidavit is perfected only if it was actually filed not less than ten days after proper service.

   Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-22-109(3); annotations to that section: Everitt Lumber Co. v. Prudential Ins. Co. of Am., 660 P.2d 925 (Colo. App. 1983); Weyerhauser Co. v. Colo. Quality Research, Inc., 778 P.2d 290 (Colo. App. 1989); United Floor Co. v. Eigel, 807 P.2d 1209 (Colo. App. 1990); Manguso v. Am. Sav. & Loan Ass'n, 782 P.2d 866 (Colo. App. 1989); Daniel v. M.J. Dev., Inc., 43 Colo. App. 92, 603 P.2d 947 (1979)(opens the statute in a new tab)
6. 6

   Step 6: Record your sworn lien statement within four months of your own last day

   Before four calendar months expire after the day you last performed labor or last furnished laborers or materials on that job. It runs from YOUR last day, not from completion of the whole project. You do not have to wait for the job to finish — Colorado courts have held claimants are not required to wait for completion.

   The recorded lien statement IS the lien. Two things make Colorado different: it has to be signed and SWORN under oath, not merely signed; and the affidavit showing you served the Notice of Intent has to be recorded along with it.

   Where it goes

   The office of the county clerk and recorder of the county where the property, or the principal part of it, is situated.

   How

   Record it with the county clerk and recorder. It must be signed and sworn to by you, by one of the claimants, or by someone on your behalf, to the best of that person's knowledge, information and belief — so it goes before a notary or another officer who can administer oaths. If the property sits in more than one county, record in every county the property is in. The statutory recording fee is $40 per document regardless of page count; counties add $3 in surcharges, so plan on $43 per document (El Paso and Arapahoe both publish $43 flat). Whether the affidavit of service is treated as part of the same document or as a second $43 document is a county-by-county practice — confirm with your recorder. E-recording vendors add their own fee.

   Proof to keep

   The recorded copy with its reception number and recording date. Separately, keep your own dated record of your first and last day on the job plus your final delivery tickets or timesheets — the statute does not require the last-furnishing date to appear in the lien statement, but that date is what proves the lien was timely if anyone challenges it.

   What the document must contain

   • The name of the owner or reputed owner — or, if you genuinely do not know it, a statement to that effect
   • Your name as the person claiming the lien
   • The name of the person who furnished the laborers or materials or performed the labor
   • The name of the contractor, if you are a subcontractor or a subcontractor's assignee — or, if you genuinely do not know it, a statement to that effect
   • A description of the property to be charged, sufficient to identify it
   • A statement of the amount due or owing to you
   • Signature, sworn to, to the best knowledge, information and belief of the affiant
   • The affidavit of service or mailing of the Notice of Intent, recorded for record WITH the statement

   If you miss it: No lien on that property. Colorado courts have held that the filing of an unverified statement is void and of no effect, so an unsworn statement is the same as no statement. You keep your contract claim against whoever owes you, but nothing is attached to the property.

   Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-22-109(1), (2), (5); recording fee, Colo. Rev. Stat. § 30-1-103(1); annotations: Rice v. Carmichael, 4 Colo. App. 84, 34 P. 1010 (1893); State Bank v. Plummer, 54 Colo. 144, 129 P. 819 (1912)(opens the statute in a new tab)
7. 7

   Step 7: On a 1- or 2-family home, record within two months of completion or a buyer takes free of your lien

   Within two months after completion of the building, improvement or structure. If the home is conveyed and occupied before it is finished, the statute deems it complete at that point — so a closing date can start the two months.

   This does not shorten your four-month recording deadline; the statute says so expressly. What it does is decide who your lien binds. On real property whose principal improvement is a single- or double-family dwelling, a lien recorded more than two months after completion does not encumber the interest of a bona fide purchaser for value. Your lien can be perfectly good against the owner you dealt with and worthless against the person who now owns the house. Laborers and mechanics under § 38-22-108(1)(a) are expressly excepted from this rule.

   Where it goes

   County clerk and recorder for the county where the property is situated.

   How

   Record the lien statement with the county clerk and recorder. The statute preserves you against a buyer in three situations: the lien statement was recorded before the conveyance; a § 38-22-109(10) notice was recorded within one month after completion or before the conveyance, whichever is later; or the purchaser had actual knowledge at the time of conveyance that the amounts due and secured by the lien had not been paid.

   Proof to keep

   Your recording date and reception number, and whatever you have fixing the date of completion — or, on a home sold unfinished, the date of conveyance and occupancy.

   If you miss it: Your lien does not encumber the buyer's interest. On a spec home that has already closed, that is the whole security. You keep the personal claim against whoever owes you.

   Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-22-125; annotation: Richter Plumbing & Heating v. Rademacher, 729 P.2d 1009 (Colo. App. 1986)(opens the statute in a new tab)
8. 8

   Step 8: File the foreclosure suit AND record the notice that you filed it — both inside six months

   Six months, and it does NOT run from the day you recorded your lien. The statute measures it from the last work or labor performed, or the last laborers or materials furnished, or completion of the building, structure or improvement. Six months from your own last day on the job is the earliest of those dates, so that is the date that cannot be too late.

   Two separate acts, both required, both inside the same six months: (1) commence an action to enforce the lien, and (2) record a notice stating that the action has been commenced. The statute's own cross-reference points to the lis pendens under C.R.C.P. 105(f) for that second act. Doing one without the other loses the lien.

   Where it goes

   Court in the county where the property is situated for the suit; the office of the county clerk and recorder of that same county for the notice.

   How

   Commence the action in court, then record the notice of commencement of the action with the county clerk and recorder. If two or more liens are recorded against the same property, one claimant commencing the action and recording the notice within the six months is enough for every lien claimant of record who is made a party, plaintiff or defendant, within that period.

   Proof to keep

   The file-stamped complaint showing its filing date, and the recorded notice of commencement with its reception number and recording date. Keep both — you will be asked to prove each one separately.

   What the document must contain

   • A notice stating that the action has been commenced, recorded with the county clerk and recorder of the county in which the property is situated

   If you miss it: The lien is extinguished. Colorado courts have held that where no notice of commencement of the action is recorded, there is no cloud on the owner's title at all; that the six-month period cannot be tolled (except under the federal bankruptcy code); and that bonding around the lien does not excuse the failure to record the notice. Late joinder of a claimant after the six months is not allowed even in a suit another claimant brought on time.

   Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-22-110 (cross-referencing C.R.C.P. 105(f)); § 38-22-111 (joinder); annotations: Schlosky v. Mobile Premix Concrete, Inc., 656 P.2d 1321 (Colo. App. 1982); King v. W.R. Hall Transp. & Storage Co., 641 P.2d 916 (Colo. 1982); Weize Co. v. Colo. Reg'l Constr., 251 P.3d 489 (Colo. App. 2010); Bulow v. Ward Terry & Co., 155 Colo. 560, 396 P.2d 232 (1964); Pac. Lumber Co. v. Lieberman, 76 Colo. 332, 231 P. 673 (1924)(opens the statute in a new tab)
9. 9

   Step 9: If the improvement is still unfinished a year after recording, record the annual affidavit

   Optional

   Within thirty days after each annual anniversary of the day you recorded the lien statement.

   A recorded lien does not hold the property longer than one year from recording unless you record an affidavit each year stating that the improvements on the property have not been completed. This only ever comes up if you recorded early on a job that is still running — in most cases the six-month cutoff in § 38-22-110 ends the lien long before the one year arrives.

   Where it goes

   Office of the county clerk and recorder of the county where the property is located.

   How

   Record an affidavit made by you, by one of the persons claiming the lien, or by someone on your behalf, stating that the improvements on the property have not been completed.

   Proof to keep

   The recorded affidavit with its reception number and recording date, and a calendar entry for each future anniversary.

   What the document must contain

   • A statement that the improvements on the property have not been completed
   • Made by the claimant, one of the claimants, or someone on the claimant's behalf

   If you miss it: The lien stops holding the property at one year. Note this is subject to the earlier termination under § 38-22-110 — the annual affidavit does nothing to extend the six-month enforcement cutoff.

   Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-22-109(8); § 38-22-109(9) (once you have recorded the required notice and commenced the action under § 38-22-110, no annual affidavit is needed after that)(opens the statute in a new tab)
10. 10

    Step 10: After you are paid, record the acknowledgment of satisfaction

    Within ten days after any person interested in the property asks you in writing.

    Once you have been paid the lien amount plus the costs of filing and recording the lien, the cost of the acknowledgment, and any accrued costs of suit, you have to clear the lien off the record. A valid tender of payment that you refuse counts as payment for this purpose.

    Where it goes

    County clerk and recorder where the lien statement is recorded.

    How

    Enter, or cause to be entered, an acknowledgment of satisfaction of record. A lien statement may be satisfied of record in the same manner as a mortgage.

    Proof to keep

    The written request with the date you received it, and the recorded satisfaction with its reception number and date.

    If you miss it: You forfeit and pay the person who asked ten dollars for every day of neglect or refusal, recoverable the same way as any other debt.

    Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-22-118(opens the statute in a new tab)

Who can claim a lien in Colorado

Where you file

Office

County Clerk and Recorder

Recording fee

$43–$86

Notarization

Required

Sworn or verified

Sworn affidavit

How it is served

Certified mail

Copies

1

Fees and office procedures change; confirm them with the recording office before you file.

What trips people up in Colorado

• COUNTING THE SIX-MONTH FORECLOSURE DEADLINE FROM THE RECORDING DATE. It runs from your last work or materials, or completion of the improvement — never from the day you recorded. If you record at month four and assume six more months, you are already out of time at month six. C.R.S. § 38-22-110.
• FILING SUIT BUT NOT RECORDING THE NOTICE THAT THE SUIT WAS COMMENCED. Both acts must happen inside the same six months. The lien is extinguished without the recorded notice, and Colorado courts have held that bonding around the lien does not cure a missing notice. C.R.S. § 38-22-110; Weize Co. v. Colo. Reg'l Constr., 251 P.3d 489 (Colo. App. 2010).
• SERVING THE NOTICE OF INTENT ON THE OWNER ONLY. It has to go to the owner or reputed owner (or the owner's agent) AND to the principal or prime contractor (or its agent). Failure to record an affidavit of service on the principal contractor has been held to invalidate the lien. C.R.S. § 38-22-109(3); Everitt Lumber Co. v. Prudential Ins. Co. of Am., 660 P.2d 925 (Colo. App. 1983).
• RECORDING THE LIEN WITHOUT THE AFFIDAVIT OF SERVICE, OR RECORDING ON DAY NINE. The affidavit of service or mailing must be filed for record WITH the lien statement, and the statement must be recorded not less than ten days after proper service. C.R.S. § 38-22-109(3); United Floor Co. v. Eigel, 807 P.2d 1209 (Colo. App. 1990).
• SIGNING THE LIEN STATEMENT INSTEAD OF SWEARING IT. Colorado requires the statement to be signed AND sworn to. An unverified statement has been held void and of no effect. C.R.S. § 38-22-109(2); Rice v. Carmichael, 4 Colo. App. 84, 34 P. 1010 (1893).
• BEING PAID BY THE DAY OR PIECE AND USING THE FOUR-MONTH NUMBER. If you furnish no laborers and no materials you get two months, and it runs from completion of the whole improvement, not your own last day. C.R.S. § 38-22-109(4).
• WORKING A 1- OR 2-FAMILY HOME, WAITING UNTIL MONTH THREE OR FOUR, AND FINDING IT SOLD. A lien recorded more than two months after completion does not encumber a bona fide purchaser for value, and the dwelling is deemed complete on conveyance and occupancy if not completed before — so a spec home that closes unfinished starts a two-month clock on the closing date. C.R.S. § 38-22-125.
• GOING BACK FOR PUNCH-LIST OR WARRANTY WORK AND ASSUMING THE CLOCK RESTARTS. Trivial imperfections in or omissions from the work are not a lack of completion and do not postpone the running of any time limit. Colorado courts define completion as actual completion dating from when the last work was done, though work that is an essential part of the job does count. C.R.S. § 38-22-109(7).
• SITTING ON A STALLED JOB. Discontinuance of ALL labor, work, services and furnishing for a three-month period is "abandonment" and is deemed equivalent to completion. Nobody has to declare the job over — the clock starts anyway, and you will not know it qualified as abandonment until three months after the fact. C.R.S. § 38-22-109(7).
• PADDING THE LIEN. Recording for an amount greater than is due, without a reasonable possibility that it is due and knowing it is greater, forfeits ALL lien rights and makes you liable for the owner's costs and ALL attorney's fees. SB 26-074, effective August 12, 2026, added a safe harbor: a court award lower than your lien amount is not excessive if you had a good-faith basis at filing, and an amount is "due" if you reasonably believe in good faith it represents the value furnished, even if unliquidated or disputed. The forfeiture is still total where the safe harbor does not apply. C.R.S. § 38-22-128(1)-(3).
• MOBILIZING WITHOUT CHECKING FOR A BOND NOTICE. If the prime recorded a notice of a 150% performance bond plus a 150% payment bond before work started, § 38-22-101(1) does not apply and there are no lien rights on that project at all. The only remedy is a direct action against the principal contractor and surety, within six months after completion of the last work. C.R.S. § 38-22-129.
• TREATING A COLORADO PUBLIC JOB LIKE A PRIVATE ONE. There is no mechanics lien on public property. Instead: file a verified statement of the amount due and unpaid with the board, officer or contracting body that awarded the contract, at any time up to and including the time of final settlement. The contracting body then withholds funds — but not longer than ninety days following the published final settlement date, unless within that ninety days an action is commenced AND a notice of lis pendens is filed with the contracting body. Where the contract exceeds $150,000 the contracting body must publish notice of final settlement at least twice, no later than ten days before final settlement. A separate action against the bond surety must be brought within six months after completion of the work; bonds are required on public contracts over $50,000. C.R.S. §§ 38-26-105(1), 38-26-107(1)-(3).
• MISSING THE RECORDED-CONTRACT RULE. Contracts over $500 must be in writing, and the OWNER must record the contract or a memorandum of it before work commences. If it is not recorded, all labor and materials are deemed furnished at the owner's personal instance and every claimant has a lien for the full value — and case law holds an unrecorded contract changes an affected claimant's status to principal contractor for timing purposes. Where it IS recorded, the contract price caps the maximum value of all liens that can be asserted. C.R.S. § 38-22-101(3); W.B. Barr Lumber Co. v. Thompson, 131 Colo. 347, 281 P.2d 1016 (1955); Heating & Plumbing Engineers v. H.J. Wilson, 698 P.2d 1364 (Colo. App. 1984).
• SIGNING A WAIVER WITHOUT THE REQUIRED THIRD-PARTY STATEMENT. An agreement to waive lien rights must contain a statement by the person waiving that all debts owed to any third party relating to the goods or services covered have been paid or will be timely paid. A waiver binds only the parties to it. C.R.S. § 38-22-119(1), (2).
• NOT SEEING THE OWNER-PAID-IN-FULL DEFENSE COMING ON A RESIDENCE. On an existing single-family dwelling, a residence the owner built or contracted for before occupying it as a primary residence, or a single-family owner-occupied dwelling (including one built and sold for occupancy as a primary residence), it is an affirmative defense that the owner paid enough to satisfy their contractual and legal obligations to the principal contractor or a subcontractor. It does not stop you recording; it defeats enforcement. It does not protect a developer or builder of multiple residences except for their own primary residence. C.R.S. §§ 38-22-102(3.5), 38-22-113(4).
• ASSUMING THE EXTENSION NOTICE BUYS MORE TIME THAN IT DOES. The § 38-22-109(10) notice extends recording to four months after completion OR six months after you record it, WHICHEVER COMES FIRST; it terminates automatically at six months; you must record a new or amended notice before that to keep it alive; and the owner can demand you terminate it once your agreement to furnish ends. C.R.S. § 38-22-109(10), (11).
• FORGETTING A LANDLORD OR OTHER INTEREST-HOLDER CAN OPT OUT EARLY. An owner or person claiming an interest (for example a landlord or vendor who authorized the improvements) can protect their own interest by serving written notice of non-liability personally on everyone furnishing labor or materials, or by posting and keeping posted a conspicuous notice on the land — within five days after obtaining notice of the work or of the intended work. This does not apply to a person whose interest is already subject to a lien under § 38-22-101. C.R.S. § 38-22-105(1)-(3).
• NOT RECORDING THE SATISFACTION AFTER PAYMENT. Ten dollars per day for every day of neglect or refusal after a written request. C.R.S. § 38-22-118.

After you file

• THE SIX-MONTH CLOCK IS ALREADY RUNNING, AND IT DID NOT START AT RECORDING. Recording the lien is not the finish line. You must commence an action to enforce it and record a notice that the action has been commenced, both within six months of your last work or materials, or of completion — whichever the statute fixes for you. C.R.S. § 38-22-110.
• YOU CAN FIX MISTAKES BY RE-RECORDING, BUT ONLY INSIDE THE ORIGINAL WINDOW. New or amended lien statements may be filed within the periods provided in § 38-22-109 to cure a mistake or to comply more fully with the article. Colorado courts have held that no additional notice of intent is required for an amended lien when the amendment only corrects the lien amount. C.R.S. § 38-22-109(6); Sure-Shock Elec. v. Diamond Lofts Venture, 2014 COA 111, 356 P.3d 931.
• THE OWNER CAN BOND THE LIEN OFF THE PROPERTY AT ANY TIME. Any owner of an interest in the property may file a corporate surety bond or other court-approved undertaking with the district court for 1.5 times the lien plus costs allowed to date. On court approval and recording of a certificate of release, the lien and any lis pendens are discharged in full and the property is forever released — the bond is substituted for the property. You then sue on the bond, and the same limitation period that applied to the lien foreclosure applies to that action. Bonding around does NOT excuse you from recording the notice of commencement. C.R.S. §§ 38-22-131, 38-22-132, 38-22-133; Weize Co. v. Colo. Reg'l Constr., 251 P.3d 489 (Colo. App. 2010).
• THE OWNER CAN DRAG YOU INTO COURT ON TWO WEEKS' NOTICE. Anyone whose property is affected by a recorded lien they believe is spurious may petition the district court for an order to show cause why the lien should not be declared invalid. The order can be granted ex parte and sets a hearing not less than fourteen nor more than twenty-one days after service. If the court finds the lien spurious it declares it and any related lis pendens invalid, releases it, and enters judgment against you for the petitioner's costs including reasonable attorney fees. If the court finds it is not spurious, costs and fees go the other way. C.R.S. § 38-35-201(3), (4), § 38-35-204.
• THE OWNER CAN KILL YOUR EXTENSION NOTICE. Once your agreement to provide labor, laborers or materials ends, the owner may demand you file a termination of a § 38-22-109(10) notice. On recording that termination the notice no longer operates as to the described property. C.R.S. § 38-22-109(11).
• AN EXCESSIVE LIEN CAN COST YOU EVERYTHING AFTER THE FACT. The forfeiture in § 38-22-128 is decided in the proceeding, not at recording — a lien for an amount greater than due, without a reasonable possibility it is due and with knowledge it is greater, forfeits all lien rights and adds the owner's costs and all attorney's fees. The SB 26-074 good-faith safe harbor (effective August 12, 2026) is the only cushion. C.R.S. § 38-22-128.
• IF ANOTHER CLAIMANT SUED FIRST, YOU MAY ALREADY BE COVERED — OR ALREADY TOO LATE. One claimant commencing the action and recording the notice within the six months satisfies § 38-22-110 for every lien claimant of record who is made a party, plaintiff or defendant, within that same period. Intervention or joinder attempted after the six months has been held ineffective. All persons with recorded lien statements must be made parties to the action. C.R.S. §§ 38-22-110, 38-22-111; Bulow v. Ward Terry & Co., 155 Colo. 560, 396 P.2d 232 (1964); King v. W.R. Hall Transp. & Storage Co., 641 P.2d 916 (Colo. 1982).
• THE MONEY ABOVE YOU IS HELD IN TRUST. All funds disbursed to a contractor or subcontractor under a building, construction or remodeling contract are held in trust for payment of the subcontractors, laborers and material suppliers who have or may have a lien. Violating that is theft under C.R.S. § 18-4-401. The trust does not apply where the payer has a good-faith belief the claim is invalid, or a good-faith setoff to that extent, or where a performance or payment bond was furnished or the owner gave a written release. C.R.S. § 38-22-127.
• WHAT THE LIEN CAN INCLUDE. Interest runs at the contract rate, or at twelve percent per annum if no rate was agreed. Costs otherwise allowed under your contract may be included in the lien, including costs from delay, lost productivity or other disruption to the work. As to all liens except a principal contractor's, the whole contract price is payable in money and is not reduced by the owner's offsets or counterclaims against the prime. C.R.S. §§ 38-22-101(5), 38-22-101(7), 38-22-102(3).
• RETAINAGE HAS ITS OWN TIMING. At least 15% of the first $250,000 of the contract price (then 10%, 5% and 2% on higher tiers) must be made payable at least thirty-five days after final completion of the contract. C.R.S. § 38-22-102(1).
• YOUR PRIORITY DATES FROM WHEN WORK STARTED, NOT WHEN YOU RECORDED. Liens under this article relate back to the commencement of work under the contract between the owner and the first contractor. C.R.S. § 38-22-106(1).
• AT ONE YEAR, THE ANNUAL AFFIDAVIT. If the improvement is still not complete and you have not yet commenced the action and recorded the notice, record an affidavit of non-completion within thirty days after each annual anniversary of recording. C.R.S. § 38-22-109(8), (9).
• WHEN YOU ARE PAID, CLEAR THE RECORD. Ten days from a written request, or ten dollars per day. C.R.S. § 38-22-118.